The Lone Texan

CHAPTER 37

DRUM WAITED UNTIL THE KIDS WERE SETTLED INTO the rooms in the new wing of the house. Jessie, Teagen's wife, and Rainey, Travis's wife, returned to what everyone called the new kitchen to talk. Travis and his family had made it home for the holiday.

The two brothers moved to the old study, where they could enjoy their cigars without the wives noticing. Drum had always admired how close the brothers were. When they'd been eleven and twelve, they'd had to defend the ranch, Teagen had taken the lead, but some in town claimed that it had been Travis's skill in the fighting that had truly saved Whispering Mountain. Drum knew, to the brothers, it didn't really matter.

Drum stood in the dining room, listening to all the family around him and feeling a part of none of it.

"You going to stand there all day, Drum?" Martha asked as she pulled off her apron, "Or are you going to walk me to my place by the pond?"

He smiled at the old housekeeper. The rest of the McMurrays might ignore him from time to time, but Martha always saw him. "I'd be honored” He offered his arm.

They walked in silence across the yard. Martha didn't care for most men, so he felt lucky she talked to him now and then. He didn't want to push his luck.

When they reached her place, he said. "I sure do like your ginger cookies, Martha.”

She grinned. "I know. That's why I make them.”

He pushed his luck. "I guess you know I'm crazy about Sage."

She laughed. "Everyone in Texas probably knows that." "You wouldn't happen to know where she is?"

"Nope," Martha answered, "but if I was looking, I'd start in the last room on the second floor, where the boys used to sleep years ago.” Martha turned and headed to her door, but he heard her add, "Not that I'd tell you, Drummond, even if you was to ask me.”

He stepped away, fighting the need to run. If he planned to see Sage at dusk, he'd better hurry.

Teagen noticed him when Drum crossed back into the house. "Join us in the study, Ronk,^” he said friendly enough.

"No, thanks.” Drum picked up his hat as if that were the reason he'd come. "I think I'll check on my horse before turning in.”

Teagen laughed. "Enjoy the loft.”

"Thanks.” Drum almost added that the barn seemed to be his room on this place. He'd spent more than one night there. When Teagen turned to walk back into the study, Drum added, "She's my woman. You and your brothers better get used to that idea."

Teagen didn't turn around, but his back straightened. "Only if she comes willingly to you, Roak."

"I wouldn't have it any other way.”

Teagen didn't turn around, but Drum knew his face would be set. The McMurrays were just going to get used to the idea, Drum decided. If he had to, he'd fight all three of them, but they wouldn't stand between him and Sage.

He circled the house, flipped up on the mud room roof, and slipped into a second-floor window.

Moving swiftly through the hallway of the old part of the house, Drum found the last room on the second floor. He guessed Teagen would have insisted Sage stay there. It was small, made for one person, leaving the larger rooms for the couples.

They should have been a couple, he thought as he walked the darkened house he knew so well. They were a couple. Each day he spent with her was torture in heaven. He loved seeing her, watching her, touching her, but she hadn't come to him. If it killed him, he'd keep his word and wait until she came to his bed.

Every evening, after kissing her, he left and spent the rest of the night longing for her. When she'd moved to Boston, if what he'd felt for her hadn't been real, he would have moved on to someone else, but for him there was no one else. She was his. Or more accurately, he was hers.

He tapped on the last door. Only a few seconds passed before she opened, and the sight of her slammed against his heart like it always did.

"You shouldn't be here.” she whispered as she let him in. Giggling, she poked him in the chest with her finger. "You must have a death wish, Drummond.”

"Wrong” he answered as he pulled her into his arms. "This is exactly where I should be”

He kissed her with more hunger than he'd planned and was surprised when she answered in kind. If nothing else, his one rule had allowed her to react to him without hesitation. She didn't have to decide to kiss him. She was simply following rules they'd agreed on. He knew he was building a fire inside her, a fire he'd someday satisfy.

When he finally broke the kiss, she leaned into him, their breaths and heartbeats blending.

"I never thought I'd like doing that so much," she whispered. "I look forward to dusk just because you'll make my heart race."

"You've been kissed far too little in your life” he whispered and felt her sigh in agreement.

"I think you're right," she mumbled as she pulled him closer.

They were too busy to talk for a while, then she pulled her mouth from his. "It's not just any kiss," she whispered so close he could feel her words. "I think it's your kiss. There's a drug in it that makes me want more.”

He smiled, knowing exactly what she was asking for. He lifted her off the ground in his hug and captured her mouth. She liked it wild and deep. She liked the kiss to be so complete that they had to break to breathe.

When he lowered her, he moved his hand along her back, keeping her close. "Ride with me tonight?" he asked as he dug his fingers into her unbound hair. "The wind is from the north. Tomorrow it may be too cold, but tonight we could climb all the way up Whispering Mountain and see the stars."

She laughed, excited at the adventure. "If you'll have the horses saddled and at the mud room door. I'll be there in an hour."

He kissed her nose and slipped away, knowing that every second he stayed increased the danger he'd be caught. The McMurray men might be willing to welcome him at their table tomorrow as a guest, but he doubted the privileges included Sage's room.

An hour later, he watched her bolt from the back door and run to him. Neither said a word as they mounted and turned the horses toward Whispering Mountain.

When they were well away from the house, she laughed. "I feel just like a kid” With the bright moon and stars, they had no trouble seeing as they crossed the pastures and streams on the ranch. "There's a legend about Whispering Mountain, you know” she said as they moved into the trees.

He'd heard the legend, but he played along. "What legend?"

"My father believed he dreamed his future on the mountain one night right after he and my mother settled here." She looked at the hill before them that the Apache called a word that translated to Whispering Mountain. "He dreamed his death."

"How sad."

"No. I mean yes, it was sad, but because of that dream, he prepared the boys to hold the ranch. He knew my mother couldn't claim the land. Because of his dream, his sons were able to keep our land. I only wish I'd been old enough to help."

"It's a nice legend.”

"It's more than that. Each of the McMurray men have climbed the mountain and slept on the summit, but none of them talk about it” She smiled. "I think they don't want to admit that the legend is true, but all came down changed.”

He kicked Satan, and the horse shot into a full run. Drum shouted back, "Let's go find out”

At the base of the hills, they left their horses and began to climb. Sage felt like she was sixteen again, running wild on the huge ranch. All the worries of the world were forgotten. Drum offered her a hand when she needed it and pushed her when he thought they were moving too slowly. By the time they reached the summit, they were both breathing heavily and laughing.

He'd strapped a thick bedroll over his back when they'd left the horses, and now he spread it on the ground beneath the stars.

"Should we light a fire?" she asked, twirling around.

"I'll keep you warm” he said but he dug for his flint.

While he started the fire, she collected wood. The fire sparked and gave a low, warm glow to the clearing. While he lined the campfire with rocks, she walked the clearing, loving the magic of the night. Nothing in Boston could ever compare with the beauty of this place.

When she returned to the fire, he handed her a canteen as he pulled off his gun belt and sat down on the blanket.

Sage took one swallow and stopped. "Milk?"

"And cookies” He gave her a bag from his coat pocket. Sage laughed. "Drum, for an evening under the stars, most men would pack wine and cheese.”

He leaned back on his elbows. "I'm not most men, Sage, and cookies sounded better.”

She looked in the bag. "I think we have cookie crumbs” She pulled one bite-size piece out and knelt as she fed it to him.

After the food was gone, she twisted, using his chest as her pillow, and they watched the sky. His hand gently stroked her hair. The gentleness of his touch warmed her from the inside. Sometimes when he was like this, she felt treasured. When others were around, he could be distant, even cold, but when only the two of them were together, she felt as if he let his guard down, and she saw who he really was.

"You know, Drum, I think I'm finally getting used to you being around” Much as he didn't care for being just her friend, she trusted him.

"Good," he answered as if he wasn't really listening. "It's about time.”

She rose and propped her elbow on his chest. "Despite all the ways you irritate me, there are two things about you that I can't figure out. First, why you insist we're made for each other, and second why, of all the men in the world, you're the only one who knows how to make me feel so alive inside”

He circled her shoulders and tugged her down. "Let's talk about the second one first.” He laughed as he lowered his mouth. "Then maybe you'll figure out the first on your own”

She felt the now-familiar bolt of pleasure and welcomed it. His kiss was soft and tender until she opened her mouth, then they both felt the fire. Tonight there was no one around to walk in or to hear them. Freedom was a drug they shared.

He pushed her on her back. His hands moved over her as his kiss made her mindless. When he unbuttoned her blouse, she struggled as if to pull away, but he didn't break the kiss, and his loving strokes continued over her, asking more than insisting that she come with him on this journey.

When she pushed again, he moved an inch away. "Come along with me tonight," he whispered. "I promise I won't hurt you. Trust me."

She relaxed, realizing she did trust him and far, far more. He might never say the words she wanted to hear, but she knew he felt them.

He finished opening her blouse and then her camisole.

As his hand crossed over her bare flesh, she jerked again, only this time in pleasure. She wanted his caress, needed it. She felt as if she'd lived through a long winter, and his touch brought the spring.

He moved down her body, exploring her every curve, tasting her skin as if she were a priceless gift he was unwrapping. Sage stretched and moaned as he removed her clothes until his hands slid over her skin without barrier. When she thought she could go no higher, he shifted, opening her legs as his exploration and his kisses moved lower.

Sage gulped for breath. "Where did you learn to do that?" she whispered as waves of passion rolled over her.

"Lessons?" he whispered, too busy to say more.

Sage was beyond forming words. All she could do was feel. Tiny rivers tingled through her body, joining at the core to form a raging river washing all thought away and leaving only passion cutting deeply into her soul.

All she wanted to do was beg him to never stop. She'd kissed a few men, been touched by two, a tentative brush atop her clothing, but nothing like this. Drum was bold and attentive. When she moaned in pleasure, he gave her what she wanted: more.

When he brought her to climax, Sage cried out and shook with pleasure. Her heart pounded. Her breath came in rapid gulps. Her mind exploded, with every part of her body sending messages all at once. Nothing had prepared her for the joy. She was riding high across the stars.

He sat up and lifted her onto his lap, cuddling her to him as she jerked in the aftershock of a passion she never dreamed existed.

When she finally returned to sanity, he was still holding her, stroking her, loving her. His hands pushed her hair back from her face so the cool night air moved over her hot flesh.

"I never felt…" She wasn't sure how to put it into words.

"I know," he whispered against her ear. "I knew you'd like it. You'll feel even more next time. You'll climb higher.”

She knew about sex. She'd been raised on a ranch. But she'd never guessed this kind of passion could come with it. "Any higher, and the fall will kill me.” She laughed.

He nibbled on her throat. "I'll be there to catch you, honey."

He wrapped the ends of the blanket around her and lay behind her while the fire burned a few feet in front of her. When his arm circled over her, she noticed he was still fully dressed.

"Drum," she asked. "Why didn't you try to take your pleasure?" She knew she wouldn't have stopped him if he had.

"Believe me, Sage, feeling you was very pleasant, but I promised I'd only bed you when you came to me. Once you come to me without being coached by even one kiss, you'll be mine forever, and I swear I'll never let you go?"

She could feel his erection pressing against her hips and knew there was nothing physically wrong with the man who held her. He wanted her, he'd always wanted her, but he wanted all of her, and she wasn't willing to give herself into another's trust so completely. She'd fought too long and hard for her independence.

"Drum. I don't want to love-"

"Hush," he whispered. "Don't think about it. Just rest for a while. If you go to sleep. I'll wake you in an hour and ask what you dreamed."